James Harden’s big 3rd quarter helps Clippers rally past Heat

INGLEWOOD — With fires still burning around Los Angeles, the Clippers got back to work, putting distractions aside and focusing on the one thing the team could control: playing basketball.

Yet, thoughts of the widespread devastation and loss of lives lingered Monday night at Intuit Dome.

With the players standing on the sideline wearing “LA Strong” warm-up shirts, public address announcer Eric Smith gave a moving speech before Monday’s tipoff about the devastating wildfires, thanking the first responders and finishing with “Today, we all stand together. One team, one Los Angeles.”

Then it was time to play.

The Clippers didn’t appear ready, though, needing a solid 24 minutes to find their rhythm against the Miami Heat zone. But once they got going, the Clippers ran over the Heat, 109-98, in front of an expectedly sparse Intuit Dome crowd.

“We’re going to play hard,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before the game. “They (the Heat) are going to compete, and we got to match their intensity for 48 minutes. Not for 24, not for 28 minutes. For 48 minutes. We got to match their intensity.”

The Clippers finally met their match in the second half, spurred by star James Harden’s outside shooting.

In the early going, the Clippers, who had not played since last Wednesday, appeared out-of-sync on offense and just off on defense. But they found a groove late in the third quarter.

Harden, who is shooting 33.9% from 3-point range, buried a trio from behind the arc and added a layup to tie the score at 59-all, and Norman Powell, the team’s leading scorer, added a 3-pointer to give the Clippers a 70-63 lead with 2:47 left in third. The Clippers outscored Miami 36-20 in the third to open a 79-68 lead. They made six 3-pointers in the period – the three by Harden and three by Powell.

“I think it was a combination of both shots being made and (solving the zone),” Lue said. “I thought James really got going to help us, propel us to the win. But I thought we figured out the zone and how we wanted to attack it.

“We got some good shots in that first half, but we still were kind of slow and kind of stagnant to getting them and I thought in that second half we really did a good job with just locking into how we wanted to execute against that zone. We were able to really get some good shots and knock down the shots as well.”

The Clippers (21-17) didn’t stop there. They stretched their cushion to 16 points with 10:20 left and led by as many as 19 in the final quarter to take down the Heat (20-18) for their second victory in the past six games.

Powell led the Clippers with 29 points and six rebounds, while Harden finished with 26 points, five rebounds and 11 assists.

Center Ivica Zubac posted his 25th double-double of the season with 21 points and 20 rebounds. It was his second career game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

The Heat, playing without All-Stars Bam Adebayo (lower back) and Jimmy Butler (suspended), were led by Tyler Herro’s 32 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

The home game was the kind of diversion the players needed after the past seven days, in which some players saw the flames come close to their homes. Kawhi Leonard’s family had to evacuate their Pacific Palisades home last week.

The Clippers also had their game Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets postponed because of the fires.

“I hope (the game) can bring some smiles to some faces, get their thoughts off the devastating fires right now,” Lue said.

A double-digit victory after consecutive losses can do that.

“It was good finally to get out there, get in front of our fans (and) just kind of forget about it for 48 minutes,” Zubac said. “To go out there and play the game we love and get our mind off it.”

Harden said the devastation left by the fires is “really sad man. It’s like, I don’t know how to explain it, but so many people are just impacted by this tragedy for real. You know what I mean?”

Leonard, playing in his third game this season, turned in another un-Kawhi-like performance with six points on 3-of-9 shooting and five rebounds and one assist. The two-time NBA Finals MVP, who missed the first 34 games of the season because of knee issues, remains on a minutes restriction and played 21 minutes, equaling his time of his previous start.

“I’m trying to do my job to help the team win,” Leonard said. “That’s all I do. And yeah, I feel good. As long as I’m feeling good on the court, I’m able to move quickly, get to my spots. That’s all I’m looking for.”

Lue said the six-time All-Star has “looked better in practice than in games”, stressing the Leonard is still trying to feel his way through games.

“I think that’s what he’s been doing the last couple of games. So, he’s got to just get to a point where he trusts, where he can go all out without having to think about it. And it’s going to take a little time.”

NOTES

The Clippers were among the 12 L.A. area pro sports teams that announced Monday they will contribute more than $8 million combined for local relief efforts. … The Clippers covered every seat at Intuit Dome with giveaway white towels featuring the words “LA Strong” and a blue image of the state of California.